Following months of construction over the summer, the Guildford Lido has opened its new £500,000 slides.

Along with a newly refurbished paddling pool with interactive toys and a mini-slide for toddlers, three new flumes, which are more than 30 metres long, have been installed.

The incentive behind the £504,000 project is to attract more people to use the open air swimming pool, as poor weather in recent years had led to dwindling visitor numbers.

The effect that the sun has in bringing in flock of swimmers and bathers to the pool is clear, as one weekend in July this year saw 4,987 people through the gates, whereas the same weekend in 2012 only had 190.

Freedom Leisure, operators of the pool, hopes the slides will make the lido more attractive to younger swimmers and families in order to maintain current attendance levels and also increase them when the weather is less inviting.

Over its first weekend of operation from Friday September 6, the slides were free to use, but normally swimmers will have to pay an additional £2 on top of their ticket price to use the new facilities.

The council allowed £500,000 in this year’s budget for the project and the £4,000 shortfall came from funds saved after the costs of reinstating the Guildhall roof came in £20,000 less than estimated.

Funds will be recovered from Freedom Leisure by increasing the fee it pays to operate the facility by just under £50,000 a year.

Children of all ages will be able to use the slides although on some slides very young children will have to be accompanied by an older person.

There is a two-lane ramp slide with bumps and a twisty slide known as the ‘anaconda,’ and a straight fast slide is called the ‘kamikaze.’

Freedom Leisure area manager, Steve May, said: “We are so pleased to get the slides and other features open in time for the rest of the season.

“We’re very proud with the end product and I’m sure all our customers will enjoy the slides for many years to come.”